MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks End Lower As Financials Sell Off
20 March 2017 - 8:46PM
Dow Jones News
By Victor Reklaitis and Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
Drop in oil prices weighs on energy shares
The main U.S. stock indexes closed marginally lower Monday for
the third straight day of losses, as investors were reluctant to
make big bets without major economic or corporate news.
In early trade, the Nasdaq Composite set an intraday all-time
high, but settled within a few points of its previous closing
record set earlier this month.
The S&P 500 index closed off 4.8 points, or 0.2%, at
2,373.45, with seven of the 11 main sectors finishing in negative
territory. Financials were the biggest decliners, putting pressure
on the main index. Meanwhile energy stocks tracked volatile oil
prices, ending slightly lower as crude-oil prices recovered some of
the sharp losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 8.76 points, or less than
0.1%, lower at 20,905.86, with two-thirds of the blue-chip
companies closing in positive territory. Caterpillar Inc.(CAT) and
Nike Inc.(NKE) led the gains, closing up 2.7% and 1.5%,
respectively while Home Depot Inc.(HD) and Visa Inc.(V) were the
top decliners, each losing 1.2%.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index set an intraday high at
5,915.12 in early trade, but finished virtually unchanged at
5,901.53.
"At this stage, sideways or a move lower on the S&P 500
would make sense and perhaps that's what we are seeing after gains
in February," said Michael Antonelli, equity sales trader at Robert
W. Baird & Co.
Market reaction to comments from Charles Evans, president of
Chicago Federal Reserve, were muted.
In an interview with Fox Business, Evans said he would support
three rate hikes
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-evans-open-to-four-interest-rate-hikes-this-year-if-inflation-flares-2017-03-20)in
total this year if economic improvement persists, and four
increases if inflation accelerates above the central bank's 2%
target.
His comments came after the policy-setting Federal Open Market
Committee on Wednesday raised benchmark interest rates for the
first time in 2017.
Some analysts suggested that investors are in a wait-and-see
mode amid political uncertainty about new regulations.
"This is what we call a classic 'backing and filling' in the
market. Investors may be somewhat clear about the monetary policy
but now are waiting to see what happens legislatively," said Maris
Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors.
Ogg is optimistic about earnings over the next couple of
years.
"We have one of the most business-friendly administrations,
which we expect to spur capital spending by companies, leading to
better earnings growth," she said.
Other markets: Oil futures fell Monday, as some analysts blamed
the drop on global growth worries after G-20 officials
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-falls-after-g-20-backtracks-on-anti-protectionist-language-2017-03-20)
removed anti-protectionist language from a policy statement.
European equities lost ground, while Asian markets were mixed.
Gold futures stepped higher, and a key dollar index was flat. The
10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.47%.
Economic news: Chicago's Evans in an interview on the Fox
Business cable channel said that he expected the U.S. economy grow
at a 2.25% pace this year. He also suggested that if the economy
continues to grow as expected and inflation flares up, he would
support four rate hikes this year.
Read:Triangulating the dots -- Fed's Evans comments suggest he
may be in three-hike camp
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/triangulating-the-dots-evans-comments-suggests-he-may-be-in-three-hike-camp-2017-03-20)
Stock movers: Energy shares were among the top decliners on the
S&P 500. Transocean Ltd.(RIG) and Chesapeake Energy Corp.(CHK)
were down 2%.
Shares of Tiffany & Co. (TIF) rose 1.5% after analysts at
William Blair upgraded the stock.
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) shares gained 0.9% after "Beauty and the
Beast" topped box-office ticket sales over the weekend.
U.S.-listed shares for Deutsche Bank AG(DBK.XE) (DBK.XE) closed
3.7% lower after the German lender issued new shares to raise
nearly $9 billion. The bank also indicated that it slashed bonuses
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deutsche-bank-slashes-bonuses-after-huge-loss-2017-03-20)
paid to staff by 80% last year after suffering its second
consecutive full-year loss.
Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) were up 2.7% after the
industrial-equipment maker reported encouraging February retail
machine-sales data
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/caterpillars-stock-leads-dow-gainers-after-encouraging-machine-retail-sales-data-2017-03-20).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2017 16:31 ET (20:31 GMT)
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